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Road Network.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 July 2004

Wednesday, 7 July 2004

Questions (140)

Pat Rabbitte

Question:

126 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Transport if he plans to introduce new toll routes to fund completion of motorways linking Dublin with Cork, Galway and the M50 upgrade. [20431/04]

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Written answers

The NDP provides for significant private sector investment in the national roads development programme. In line with this policy, a number of major road upgrade projects throughout the country are being implemented by the NRA by means of PPPs, with the private sector being remunerated, in part, by user tolls. This will ensure earlier delivery of vital national road infrastructure. Private sector innovation will be harnessed in the areas of scheme design, construction and long-term operation and maintenance through PPPs.

The NRA's current PPP programme comprises ten projects. In selecting them the authority had regard to a number of factors including the following: a geographical spread of tolls across the network; the extent of service improvement to be provided by the improved route; the availability of sufficiently high traffic volumes to ensure commercial viability; and the setting of tolls at an affordable and acceptable level in order to reduce diversion and gain public acceptance. It is clear that there is limited capacity, over and above the projects already identified by the NRA, across the national road network to support viable tolling arrangements.

Nevertheless the increased cost of the national roads programme, combined with the demands of the other sectors that limit the capacity to allocate more Exchequer funding, require that all possibilities for generating additional funding to accelerate the implementation of the national roads programme be considered.

In this context and that of a broader review of the arrangements for the delivery of the programme, the NRA recently identified a number of options for the development of tolling policy to enable it to raise additional funding for the national roads programme. My Department is considering its proposals. Any decisions on the extension of tolling beyond the current PPP programme would be considered by the Government.

Question No. 127 answered with QuestionNo. 64.
Questions Nos. 128 and 129 answered with Question No. 43.
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